Riddick, the violent anti-hero first introduced in “Pitch Black,” returns in an all-new blistering movie, “The Chronicles of Riddick,” by creator/writer/director David Twohy. This time, Riddick is the key to the fates of several worlds and has a mysterious past revealed that viewers of the first movie could never have guessed at.

At first blush, “Pitch Black” comes across as an SF film. But by the end of that film, Riddick confronts some of the bloodthirstiest monsters ever revealed in cinema and “Pitch Black” becomes, for all intents and purposes, a horror movie with SF overtones. “The Chronicles of Riddick” remains SF all the way through. In fact, this sequel proves to be a galaxy-spanning romp that is pure adrenaline-charged fun.

Twohy offers a caveat at the beginning of the movie, warning viewers
that the additional material spooned into this version may cause some
noticeable video changes. Whatever changes there may be are slight.

Chapter 1 introduces the Necromongers, the vast army on the move across
the galaxy on their way to some mysterious place called the Underverse.
As they pass, they convert or kill all who cross their path. The
stunning visual effects are accompanied by sensational audio effects.
When the planet blows up in the first chapter, the appropriate “whoosh”
of noise follows each detonation. The CGI work in the movie is
absolutely spot-on and wakes the viewer up to a sensory feast in the
offing.

Chapter 2 kicks into high gear, showing the action-adventure elements
that go into so much of the movie. Riddick leaps across a maze-like
terrain on a frozen world with a ship of mercenaries hot on his tail.
As the ship swoops, from left to right across the screen, the sound
peals through the surround sound system, ripping through the left front
speaker, the center speaker(s), and the right speaker, thumping the
subwoofer solidly.

The camera viewpoint shifts are amazing, drawing the viewer into the
action. Riddick nearly gets nailed by the metal nets fired from the
ship, suffers a wound, and leads the mercenaries after him into a chasm
filled with treacherous natural stone bridges. The action comes fast
and furious, but every viewer in the audience who loves action flicks
is going to be cheering Riddick on.

Riddick defeats the mercenaries and finds out that the person who put
the price on his head was from New Mecca. Shifting storylines, the tale
picks up with a violent young woman (Alexa Davalos), seemingly more
animal than human, who has been captured by other mercs. The howls and
snarls of the creatures trapped in the cargo bay with her fill the
surround sound system. But another piece of the overall puzzle has been
introduced with a bang. Later in this chapter, Riddick has the first of
several flashbacks that talk about his home planet, Furia. The viewers
learn about the tragic fate of the planet and the prophecy that has
been made regarding the destroyer of that world. The ship’s re-entry
into New Mecca’s atmosphere roars through the surround sound system. As
the spaceport patrol’s ship careens through the air, the sound whips
through the right speaker to the center to the left, mimicking the
motion. Likewise, the landing reverses that and makes us feel as though
we are standing on the sidelines watching.

New Mecca comes across as a fully-developed Moslem planet, complete
with African heat and sand dunes, in Chapter 4. The CGI is awesome,
elevating the movie into blockbuster quality. Riddick knows that Imam
(Keith David), the holy man he saved in the last movie, is the only
person who could have located him for the mercenaries. Riddick has
killed several people and has a large outstanding bounty on his head.
Imam tells Riddick about the Necromongers and the comet that precedes
them. He gave Riddick’s location to the mercenaries in the hopes that
Riddick would come to him and help him against the enemy.

In Chapter 5, the Elemental, Aereon (Judi Dench), who has news of the
Necromongers, puts in a series of appearances. Imam and Aereon talk
about the prophecy of the Furian survivor who will bring down the Lord
Marshal and the Necromongers. Riddick doesn’t intend to fight, but Imam
reminds him of how he left the young girl Jack to her fate as well and
it halts him in his tracks. Riddick’s question, “You’re not afraid of
the dark, are you?” leads up to a lightning-quick display of the
frenzied battle and death-dealing that will make up much of the movie.
The sounds of flesh slamming into flesh, of weapon striking weapon,
pours through the surround sound system.

The battle for the planet in Chapter 6 hammers the surround sound
system with thumping beats. Just as quickly, the music score throbs to
life, providing a heavy downbeat to enhance the action. The destruction
of the city is awesome. Roaring winds pummel the speakers. The tense
music as Riddick gazes up at the immense starship is only a prelude to
the sounds of blasting fighter engines and explosions. The viewer gets
deluged by the onslaught of noise pummeling him or her from every
quarter.

As the movie progresses, Riddick ultimately has no choice but to go
head-to-head with the Necromongers and the Lord Marshal (Linus Roache).
Battle sequences and derring-do mount, upping the stakes constantly,
and Riddick’s cool warrior-guy status explodes as he and Davalos’ Kyra
(who used to be the girl named Jack) first fight each other and then
team up to fight together.

Ultimately, “The Chronicles of Riddick” proves to be a B-movie gone
high-tech and high-treatment. The architecture of the back story, the
characters and the worlds, along with the look of the movie, are
definitely light years ahead of most. The plot has a number of holes
(in fact, the whole Underverse is never once explained as being more
than something other than life), but the headlong pacing and action
sequences make every SF and action movie fan willing to suspend belief
and sit back to enjoy the ride.

The special features on the DVD offer a lot in the way of added value.
The commentary offered by the director and the actors are well worth
the price of the disc. Slipping the disc into the XBox allows the buyer
to play the first level of the video game based on the movie franchise.
As always, the special effects features enable the viewer to get a
better grasp of the movie-making process.

SF and action movie fans will delight in this movie. It’s pure popcorn
entertainment with a ton of special effects thrown in. Also, Riddick is
the perfect anti-hero with a victimized past and a kick-ass attitude
that those viewers love to cheer on. Pick it up and guarantee over two
hours of rollicking action for a Friday or Saturday night. Recommended
for teens and up based on the violent content.